Help

No account yet?
Registering is free, easy, and private.
Discuss in the forum, contribute to the Encyclopedia, build your own MyAnime lists, and more.

Review

by Theron Martin, Feb 11th 2007

Jinki:Extend

DVD 2

Synopsis:

In 1988 in Venezuela, Aoba had initially refused to fight a Jinki piloted by Kouse, the boy she'd met who had quickly won her heart, but when Rui is soundly defeated by her she's left with little choice, especially with her mother Shizuka doing everything in her power to entice her into a battle to the death. Genta must also contend with the young woman who looks so much like his deceased wife. In 1991 in Japan, Akao is also still adamantly against fighting the Ancient Jinki and forces of the Hachi Shoujin, but seeing the harm that her friends are coming to fighting in her place, and the threat posed to them by the Hachi Shoujin, starts to change her mind, despite the inner voice which tells her not to fight. A new and older pilot, Mel J, comes into the picture with a stolen Jinki and mission of revenge against Hachi Shoujin member J Hearns, but could this all be just a ploy by Shiva to get Akao to do what she wants?

Review:

Synopsis:

In 1988 in Venezuela, Aoba had initially refused to fight a Jinki piloted by Kouse, the boy she'd met who had quickly won her heart, but when Rui is soundly defeated by her she's left with little choice, especially with her mother Shizuka doing everything in her power to entice her into a battle to the death. Genta must also contend with the young woman who looks so much like his deceased wife. In 1991 in Japan, Akao is also still adamantly against fighting the Ancient Jinki and forces of the Hachi Shoujin, but seeing the harm that her friends are coming to fighting in her place, and the threat posed to them by the Hachi Shoujin, starts to change her mind, despite the inner voice which tells her not to fight. A new and older pilot, Mel J, comes into the picture with a stolen Jinki and mission of revenge against Hachi Shoujin member J Hearns, but could this all be just a ploy by Shiva to get Akao to do what she wants?

Review:

The first volume showed promise as a classic-styled coming-of-age mecha story about a determined young female pilot learning the ropes of operating giant mecha and coming to terms with the fact that piloting might ultimately mean she'll have to fight other people. Though its storytelling was a bit muddled because of the way it bounced back and forth between two different time lines without explaining what it was doing, it offered up a lot of intriguing mysteries and assorted cute young female pilots. The second volume, unfortunately, is not only a mess but shows a distinct drop-off in writing quality, with some scenes (especially in episode 9) playing out like clumsy, hackneyed attempts to generate drama and emotional scenes – and no, that can't be blamed on the dub. It also gets discordantly silly at exactly one point and almost completely ignores a significant chunk of the supporting cast used in the first volume. It is a disappointing follow-up to a good first volume.

As with the first volume, it helps tremendously if you understand up front that the storytelling alternates between events in 1988 Venezuela and 1991 Japan. This time around the bulk of the emphasis is on the events in 1991; in fact, episodes 8 and 9 concern them almost exclusively, with the final few minutes of episode 9 providing linkage between the two time frames by at least partly explaining how many of the characters in Venezuela ended up in Japan in 1991. The shifting of emphasis may be disconcerting to those who got hooked on the show because of Aoba, but as this block of episodes makes clear, she was apparently never meant to have more than a share of the spotlight with Akao.

The real problem, though, is the pace of the storytelling. Neither timeline in these four episodes tells anything approaching a full story, instead jumping ahead in increments and skipping the connecting content necessary for things like developing sympathy for characters, explaining why characters are doing what they're doing, or just generally making full sense of what's going on. Each episode ends with the feeling that something has been missed, and the impression that the series would fare better if it had at least four or five more episodes to develop is inescapable. A good number of mysteries do remain to be sorted out, such as how Shiva is connected to Shizuka, why Akao is a dead ringer for Genta's dead wife Akano, what the Hachi Shoujin, led by Kokushou, are actually trying to accomplish (looking this up online is recommended, as the series as a whole, and Shizuka and Shiva's actions in particular, make a lot more sense if you know it), and what these “Lost Life Phenomenons” and the Ancient Jinki have to do with it, but at least by the end of this volume we know why Ryouhei is in Japan in 1991 and have some sense of why Shizuka is so determined to get her daughter to hate her. By the end of this volume one does have a sense of how the series' opening sequence came to be, though.

The artistry is at its best in providing an array of interesting female character designs, although the way the eyes are drawn on several characters is freaky and disconcerting, while some other features (particularly hair) lack good definition. Mel J's design, and her revealing outfit, also makes her look much older than she's supposed to be. (18?!?) Far less impressive is Ryouhei's rough design and the coloration of the artistry in general, which is tremendously flat and dull except when showing the mecha; this isn't the vibrant look one normally expects from anime. Backgrounds are also very ordinary. The animation is perhaps the biggest disappointment, as the shortcuts are so obvious in some scenes that even a novice anime viewer can tell that something doesn't look right. The mild fan service sprinkled through the first volume is nearly absent in this one, unless you count the revealing outfit Mel J is made to wear or getting to see how Aoba looks with three additional years of growth in all the right places.

Sound production and use of the musical score continue to be the series' greatest strength, although both are a bit less impressive here than in the first volume. They are still complemented by a good rock-themed opener and solid closer. The dub also continues to hold its own except for the awful Next Episode previews, with most roles cast and performed well. Of particular note is Monica Rial in a very rare villainous role (as Shizuka). The English script does not stray too much from the original, which is a shame because that might have improved things in episode 9.

The inside cover contains bonus artwork and an interview with the original planner and script writer, which does contain some minor spoilers. On the disc itself are an interview with the Japanese sound director and two seiyuu, an alternate on-air opener, a regular clean opener and closer, an updated versions of the Glossary of Terms, and notes on the Japanese locations used in the series to date. The most novel Extra is the “Moriboto-2 Model Test,” which is a short all-CG test rendering of the Moriboto-2 in action.

Episodes 6-9 still have the cute look and enough mecha action to satisfy mecha action junkies, and there are some decent story elements, but the volume suffers too much from its overly-condensed story and poor execution in key dramatic scenes. Extra online research about the title is recommended for maximum appreciation and understanding of what is transpiring, since the series has not done a terribly good job so far of explaining itself.

Zac and Jacob spend the entire first video episode of ANNCast talking spoiler-free about Makoto Shinkai's amazing movie, your name., plus Yuri!!! on Ice and much more!― ANNCast Episode 278: What's My Name Zac and Jacob spend the entire first video episode of ANNCast talking spoiler-free about Makoto Shinkai's amazing movie, Your Name, plus Yuri on Ice and much more! You can listen to the show on ou...

Pokemon Sun and Moon introduced a brand new visual style to the franchise that's left fans divided! Callum May explains how and why Pokemon's style has shifted so much over the years.― The anime industry is constantly changing. In the past 20 years, we've seen new studios rise and old guards fall, we've lost extraordinary veteran talents and welcomed new hopeful faces, we've seen entirely new ways o...

One of the most beloved seasons in this classic anime is finally available to own with a brand-new dub! Rebecca Silverman explores how well Sailor Moon S holds up after all these years.― Sailor Moon S is hailed as one of the best seasons of the five-season series, and even just from the first few episodes, you can see why. Unlike its predecessors, Sailor Moon S gets right down to business introducin...

It's Dark Souls by way of creative powderkeg Suda 51, and Dustin has strapped in for a weird, bloody ride. PLUS: Death Stranding, Final Fantasy XV, Super Mario Run and much more!― It's the end of the year, and that means it's time for game releases to start winding down—but don't worry, January is already packed. There's only one release of any note this week, but don't think the lack of new games m...

This unusual historical fantasy anime might have gotten lost in the shuffle of bigger titles over time, but it's still one of a kind today. Theron Martin explores just what makes this series special.― Maria the Virgin Witch is a remarkable series in many respects. It's nearly as raunchy as a high-end fanservice anime – even being assigned a TV-MA rating despite not having any detailed nudity – and y...

Like this season's Izetta: The Last Witch, historical fiction anime plays fast and loose with real events to spin some fantastic yarns that nevertheless teach us plenty about real history!― Though it has never been a dominant anime genre, historical fiction has nevertheless persisted in anime since its earliest days. These days hardly a season goes by without some new interpretation(s) of Sengoku-er...

The extras are insightful in this new release of Summer Wars, even if the story may not hold up the way it once did. Rebecca Silverman offers her take on Mamoru Hosoda's breakout film.― Time is the greatest test of any work. Poems written by Heian era women over a thousand years ago are still intimately relatable to modern readers, novels by men in the 19th century still have a lot to say about soci...

Monster Musume is a very, very naughty manga. When you've got a harem interspecies comedy where the girls are half-snake, half-horse or half-slime mould, the sexy permutations are pretty much infinite. Below, we've nominated our seven favourite guilty pleasures from Monster Musume's early chapters. Warning: the following scenes contain acts which some people may find unnatural... 1 – Monster Musu...

Keijo!!!!!!!! shoots up the charts and Sound! Euphonium 2 retakes the top spot in our weekly user rankings! See how your favorite shows performed!― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Fall 2016 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these rankings ...

After a decade in development, the latest entry in the Final Fantasy franchise is finally here! Dustin Bailey has the lowdown on this bishounen-packed road trip.― Every time you boot up Final Fantasy XV, it presents you with a message, calling itself a “Final Fantasy for fans and first timers.” The series' disconnected chronology has always favored reinvention, but this one takes that that further t...

The spicy boy-meet-girl-monsters manga comedy Monster Musume has been a hit since it slithered sexily from the mind of artist OKAYADO. You could call it a harem manga, but you've never seen a harem like this one. It starts with a bird-girl, a snake-girl and a horse-girl, and then it gets really strange. All these ladies are flying, clopping and otherwise perambulating to Japan as part of a govern...